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YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

bbc.com

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Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#141

Post by knzhou »

throwaway_USD wrote: post #134

Pick any politician and you will likely find some egregiously false statements about Covid-19...but I have to say the WHO, maybe acting on the best info at the time or acting as puppet for China, had put out some seriously dangerous false statements, including: On January 14, the WHO stated that there was “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus.”

This is one of those completely false things that people only believe is true by repetition. Go back and actually read the full set of WHO statements in mid-January. They have a bunch of statements saying there probably is person-to-person transmission, and a bunch saying that specific studies haven’t yet found hard evidence for person-to-person transmission (because at that point most of the cases they’d managed to find were tied to the market). The WHO never, ever said that it can’t be transmitted, and they absolutely never said that people should do nothing about COVID-19. They were urging nations to act for months before they actually did.

Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#142

Post by Barrin92 »

xupybd wrote: post #81
Barrin92 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither does the US. Taiwan is only recognised by IIRC 12 natinos, mostly small island states. This has become another weird internet talking point as international recognition pretty much unanmiously switched to the PRC in the 1970s.

It's the awkward way they one representative handled a question on Taiwan. Pretending he didn't hear the question. I think it speaks more to the unwillingness of a world health organisation to even discuss politically dangerous topics.

>I think it speaks more to the unwillingness of a world health organisation to even discuss politically dangerous topics.

Which is perfectly reasonable if you understand that these questions are looked at through the lens of international diplomacy and these people don't just wing geopolitical questions because every single answer can cause an international shitstorm (not just in regards to China, but every territorial conflict really). This may look awkward to the ordinary viewer but it's not really.

The WHO has a fairly strong interest in staying out of politics and being a health organisation, so whatever diplomatic position they take is mostly just going to be whatever the status quo is. If you think the non-recognition of Taiwan is unethical then you should take that up with your respective government, a guy speaking for the WHO isn't really in any position to make incindiary political commentary.

Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#143

Post by cryptochromium »

arrrg wrote: post #113
graeme wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The WHO denied human-to-human transmission even after Taiwan told them about it, and they dug their heels on calling the outbreak a pandemic for weeks. I think it depends how youtube draws the line. If they’re removing stuff like “use colloidial silver” or “no need to wash your hands” then sure. But the WHO is not gospel.

The WHO never denied human-to-human transmission. This is a blatant lie.

"Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China,"

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152?s=20

Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#145

Post by orangecat »

kongolongo wrote: post #16
topoftheforts wrote: post #2

Is this the beginning of the end for YouTube? As someone who deeply hates how much fake news have been spreading in the past few years, I still find this very worrying, especially since the WHO has been very inconsistent with their messaging during this pandemic [1] and sometimes plain wrong [2]. [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-who/who-chie... [2] https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152

To be fair no major health organization has been completely consistent or completely "correct" regarding the pandemic, in fact its virtually impossible to do so as the situation develops and our understanding of the situation changes. The recent change to CDC guidelines for the general public to wear face masks is an example of reaction to new research. That's not to say there isn't outright incorrect fake news, but…

To be fair no major health organization has been completely consistent or completely "correct" regarding the pandemic

Exactly, which is why declaring that any one entity is the unquestionable source of truth not only shreds the concept of freedom of expression but may be actively harmful.

The recent change to CDC guidelines for the general public to wear face masks is an example of reaction to new research.

Was it actually in response to new research? (Not a rhetorical question). My impression is that they had to change their policy because their "noble lie" of "masks don't work, also we have to save them for healthcare workers" was increasingly recognized as utter nonsense. Which might not have happened if anyone who advocated masks had been summarily deplatformed.

Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#146

Post by jonny_eh »

gowld wrote: post #86
kongolongo wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair no major health organization has been completely consistent or completely "correct" regarding the pandemic, in fact its virtually impossible to do so as the situation develops and our understanding of the situation changes. The recent change to CDC guidelines for the general public to wear face masks is an example of reaction to new research. That's not to say there isn't outright incorrect fake news, but…

Right now, today, while half the world is lockdown in their own homes, WHO is still advocating for unrestricted international travel. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2... Telling people to not fly across the world is bannable misinormation acording to Wojcicki's definition. Of course, it wouldn't be banned, because the actual rule is a much more subjective "whatever makes YT look bad to adv…

A big hinderance to containing the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014 was all the cancelled flights, since it prevented medical experts from getting to the impacted areas. While it seems counter-intuitive at first, travel bans do little to stop the spread (especially after it's reached other countries), but they do limit our ability to fight the pandemic.

http://www.flanderstoday.eu/politics/white-house-praises-bru...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ttpHvK6yw

Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#147

Post by buboard »

youtube is offering a convenient service subsidized by googles big pockets, they are not some arbiter of truth (but are entitled to their opinions). there are already plenty of podcasts in their archives that directly contradicted WHO guidelines at the time they were made. I don't even think they are a major source of hoaxes/conspiracies. this is actually a bad look for youtube.

Re: YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

#149

Post by golemiprague »

Would be nice if all those platforms would adhere to the principles of freedom of speech. It is proven again and again that the founding fathers of the US were pretty smart implementing this idea, any other alternative is worst and in some cases like this, can danger people lives.
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